Tuesday, September 28, 2010

﻿My uncle Jose Tamayo, know to us as “Pepe”, and his friend Alvaro Rossel were found today in Alvaro’s car, the victims of a fatal car accident on a dangerous road in a beautiful country. This has been devastating news. But I am so grateful to those people who searched for them on foot and in helicopters and vehicles and at the end of ropes, and to Peru, the US Embassy, Congressman Himes, all of the reporters we've spoken to in the US and in Peru, and countless others for their efforts at helping our families. I am relieved to have the news and to not go another night worrying about my dear uncle Pepe and Alvaro.

I never really got the idea of "closure" having never been in this situation, or anything close to it. But after many days of little sleep and lots of stress and emotion and seeing your family going through their own personal mental tortures, your mind does terrible things, keeps you up at night playing various scenarios over and over, hashing out minute details of multiple possibilities, like a movie with an infinite number of alternate endings... some where you can help, some where people beg for help and no one comes, some where people suffer, terrible stuff, and some of it very calming and peaceful and sweet, but to not know... THAT is torture. For several days that is what I go to sleep with and what I wake up with. That is what haunts me any moment that I allow my mind to wander. Now at least I know... I know that they weren't lost cruelly and needlessly at the hands of some thug, or left to die slowly on purpose after being injured or thrown in a ditch, tortured for days at gun-point, left to starve in the jungle, left to die of their individual medical complications... It was in fact an accident. Like those people in the interviews said, the road is dangerous and accidents happen. It was an accident and I feel immense relief. And immense grief... But it's better to know. It truly is. Really, this is what they mean by closure.

I still can't imagine how I will handle my next party without Pepe but I can say goodbye to him now without worrying he might be suffering anymore. The desperation of the last several long days melted into great, sobbing sadness upon hearing the news and now what I feel… I can’t quite describe, sleepy understanding? I will sleep tonight knowing that my uncle is not in distress and knowing that when he left us he was with a person he loved dearly, a good man, Alvaro Rossel, his closest friend in the world.That gives me great comfort.

Through this process I have been absolutely amazed at the love and the outpouring of support, the advice, encouragement, prayers, offers of help given to us and to me personally by friends, acquaintances and total strangers; friends of friends of old friends, friends of sisters of classmates, facebook friends of old friends, former co-workers of friends, and so on. There has been such an incredible outpouring of support for our families and I am so grateful. I wish I could thank each of you and hug each of you personally. It was so comforting to me to have people reaching out and doing all they could for a stranger. I know that this is the basis of human nature, this is what we do, ultimately people help people in need because we are all in it together. Thank you, friends and strangers alike. I am humbled, absolutely humbled by the outpouring of love… in a world where everyone says we are all isolated computer-junkies, real people reached out of their computers and offered overwhelming support and I want everyone to know how much hope it gave us and how much it is appreciated. These men were worth all of it, really, they were. Alvaro Rossel and Jose Tamayo, they were good men, and loved, very much loved and if you’d met them you would never forget them, that's the kind of people they were… and they were worth ALL of the effort it took to find them, every bit of it, every single moment spent.

In order to get American resources down to Peru, the Peruvian government has to ask for help from America. U.S. citizens can call or e-mail the Peruvian ambassador in Washington, D.C., and ask him to ensure the Peruvian government is doing all it can.

Hundreds of people have viewed this blog! PLEASE take a moment to email the ambassador. Ask your friends to do this too!

You may copy and paste this mesage:
Sir, there are 2 missing elderly men in a jungle in Peru; Jose Tamayo and Alvaro Rossel. Mr. Jose Tamayo is a Peruvian born man; a Peru/US dual citizen, a father, a grandfather, a business owner. He disappeared on vacation in his beloved Peru 9 days ago with his friend Mr. Alvaro Rossel, a Peruvian businessman and entrepenuer. They may be sick or injured, they are in dire need of help. I urge you to plead with the government of Peru on the behalf of Jose Tamayo, Alvaro Rossel and all of their family and friends in the United States and in Peru who are powerless to help. We desperately need to find our loved-ones. Does Peru have the resources to complete this search? We want the US to help find this missing citizen. Please ask for help from the US to find our men. Time is of the essence.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Jose Tamayo's son (my cousin) in Peru. H flew to Lima this week to help with the search for his father

From Peru: Panorama-En el Nombre del Padre; In the Name of the Father

This two part News report in Spanish has good video footage of the area where my dear uncle Jose Tamayo and his close friend Alvaro Rossel were travelling. It also shows the road and the search area giving a glimpse into the type of terrain that the searchers are dealing with. This is interesting to watch even if you don't speak Spanish just to get a feel for the area.

The man in the white T-shirt and dark sunglasses shown leading one of the search parties is Juan Alvaro, Alvaro Rossel's eldest son. They say of him, it doesn't matter how far he has to go or how long it takes to find his father...

The three women and the man that are interviewed in the rose-walled room are Alvaro Rossel's daughters, Mariana (far right) graduated from Wells College, Lorena (middle) graduated from Brown University and Monica (left) graduated from NYU, they are with Jose Tamayo's son, Jose Luis (Boston College) who is American. He flew to Peru this week to help.

Some of the people interviewed in the town comment that the road is dangerous and that accidents are known to happen.

Jose Tamayo and Alvaro Rossel met in high school in Peru. Jose was older than most of his classmates due the travels of his military family and to a protracted childhood injury and illness resulting in the partial loss of use of one leg and delaying his education significantly. Alvaro and Jose became friends when they were just boys and have enjoyed a friendship that has remained strong and has lasted through the decades, endured trials and tribulations and defied national boundaries.
Now in their 70s, Jose, a US citizen and resident, and Alvaro, Peruvian, are both beloved fathers and grandfathers, they are warm, funny people; Alvaro is boisterous, friendly and quick with a hug or a round of drinks for friends, Jose, more reserved but witty, warm and loving, known especially for his endless repertoire of jokes.

On Thursday, September 16th, Jose and Alvaro left for a road trip that would take them ultimately to the Western edge of the Peruvian jungle to Pozuzo about a 300 mile trip from Lima. They planned several stops along the way including one stop to visit a friend. They packed for a 5 day trip and were expected back on Tuesday, September 21st.
The last communication was made on Saturday, September 18th via Alvaro's cell phone. They were having a good time and would be leaving Oxapampa, less than 100 miles from Pozuzo, the next day, Sunday.
Meanwhile back in Lima preparations were being made for Jose's surprise 79th birthday party on Thursday, something specially arranged by his dearest friend, Alvaro. But neither Jose nor Alvaro made it to the party.

The search began on Tuesday when Alvaro's son departed for Oxapampa concerned that the two had not returned and had not communicated with their families. The search party is much larger now but much remains to be done as the area of interest is jungle. JUNGLE. This is a drug trafficking area, perhaps they were robbed and left in the jungle? Car accident? They may be injured, hungry... these men need medical care at this point.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

There are numerous news clips from TV news in Peru on the disappearance of our love-ones Jose Tamayo and Alvaro Rossel. These links are in Spanish, sorry for those who don't understand Spanish. We would love some TV coverage in the US in English. They are mainly descriptions of the circumstances of the disappearance, descriptions of Alvaro and Jose and desperate pleas from Alvaro's daughters and Jose's son for information. A reward for information is being offered.

My uncle, Jose Tamayo, went missing in Peru last Sunday, September 19th during a sight-seeing trip just a few hundred miles away from his home town of Lima, Peru with Alvaro Rossel, his close friend of over 50 years. Jose is a US citizen, Connecticut resident and business owner, a father, a grandfather, a cancer survivor, a good man. The media in Peru has been very aggressive and search parties have been out since Tuesday. We have yet to see ANY media coverage of this in the US. WE NEED MEDIA COVERAGE!!! We must find our loved-ones, time is critical, we will not give up the search and we need to urge the search effort to continue. We feel that media pressure from the US will help immensely. Can you help?

MISSING
Tourists Alvaro Rossel, Peruvian age 74 and Jose Tamayo, Peruvian-American (US Citizen) age 79 have been missing since Sunday September 19th. They were last seen in the central region of Peru. The tourists are traveling in a silver Mitsubishi Outlander license plate RQW112.

The information obtained only confirms their whereabouts through last Sunday. Informants say they had lunch at Casa de Baco in Oxapampa and then left on their way to Pozuzo. Traveling in this direction, they were last seen on the road between Oxapampa and Huancabamba.

HYPOTHESIS

At the current time, officials working on the case are focusing on a possible car-jacking or an accident. The remote area can be dangerous with drug traffickers in the area.

INFORMATION ON THE MISSING

Both tourists are retired. Previously Alvaro Rossel worked in the Pisco business in Lima and Jose Tamayo in the United States.

SEARCH

Both the Department of Defense and the Homeland Security are involved in the search. The group specializing in the General Direction of the Police, DININCRI, as well as helicopters and specialized vehicles have been deployed to the area since Friday the 24th of September.

US INVOLVEMENT

The US has become actively involved in the search through their embassy in Lima as well as through Connecticut congressman Jim Hines, who made direct contact.